Bee Better Certified Offers a New Approach to Protecting Pollinators

Bee Better Certified Offers a New Approach to Protecting Pollinators

New Farm and food certification program gives recognition to conservation-minded farmers and food companies that protect pollinators

PORTLAND, Ore., June 20, 2017—A new certification program enables farmers to show consumers they are farming in ways that benefit bees. The Bee Better CertifiedTM program is launched by the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, in partnership with Oregon Tilth. The development of Bee Better Certified was funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

“Bee Better Certified is working with conservation-minded farmers to meet a growing interest from consumers to know how their food choices impact bees,” said Xerces Society Executive Director Scott Hoffman Black. “Many species of bees have suffered declines over the years, but by creating habitat and reducing pesticide use, Bee Better is generating meaningful change on working farms, helping to preserve crop pollinators and the valuable services they provide to farmers.”

After piloting the program with 13 farmers over the past few months, the Xerces Society and Oregon Tilth are now opening it to farmers nationwide. The program focuses on integrating flower-rich habitat into farms in order to provide food and nesting sites for native bees, honey bees and other pollinators. It also requires farmers to reduce or eliminate use of pesticides known to cause harm to bees.

Oregon Tilth assesses and certifies farms based on the amount and quality of habitat created as well as the incorporation of pest management strategies aimed at protecting crop pollinators.

“When Xerces approached us as a possible partner, it seemed like a great fit,” said Oregon Tilth Certification Director Connie Karr. “We knew our missions were aligned, and we could bring our certification expertise alongside their technical expertise in invertebrates to develop this standard together. It’s important to make sure a new set of standards is credible, valuable and achievable. By working together, we could achieve all those things.”

The project received a $350,000 Conservation Innovation Grant in 2016 from U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) which the Xerces Society matched to develop and test the first-of-its-kind program. The Conservation Innovation Grant program aims to drive public-private innovation to support next-generation conservation efforts.

“About two-thirds of the country is privately owned, meaning the land management choices of our nation’s farmers, ranchers and forest landowners can have positive impacts from pollinators,” NRCS Acting Chief Leonard Jordan said. “We’re inspired by the many men and women who step up and voluntarily implement conservation practices on their land, which benefits bees and other pollinators as well as our soil, water and air.”

Bee Better is open to farms of all types and sizes. Those interested can submit an application to Oregon Tilth, which inspects the farm and certifies if it meets standards. Certified farmers are able to use the Bee Better Certified seal on their farmstands. Manufacturers can also use the seal on products that contain Bee Better CertifiedTM ingredients.

The launch of Bee Better Certified comes at the beginning of National Pollinator Week. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue declared June 19–25 National Pollinator Week to draw attention to the plight of pollinators whose numbers are in decline.

The Xerces Society is a nonprofit organization that protects wildlife through the conservation of invertebrates and their habitat. With the largest and most experienced pollinator conservation team in the world, Xerces is a trusted source for science-based information and advice. We collaborate with people and institutions at all levels and our work to protect pollinators encompasses all landscapes. Our team draws together experts from the fields of habitat restoration, entomology, botany, and conservation biology with a single focus—protecting the life that sustains us. To learn more about our work, please visit https://xerces.org/.

About Oregon Tilth

Oregon Tilth is a leading nonprofit certifier, serving over 3,000 farms and processors across the U.S. and Mexico. Since 1974, Oregon Tilth’s mission is to make our food system and agriculture biologically sound and socially equitable. It does this by focusing on organic certification, education, conservation, public policy and marketplace sustainability.

About the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service

For more than 80 years, USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service has helped farmers, ranchers and forest landowners make investments in their agricultural operations and local communities that keep working lands working, boost rural economies, increase the competitiveness of American agriculture and improve the quality of our air, water and soil. NRCS provides technical and financial assistance to agricultural producers to help them plan and implement a variety of conservation practices, including those that benefit bees and other pollinators. NRCS offers more than 30 conservation activities that can benefit bees. Learn more by visiting nrcs.usda.gov.

The following photographs are available for use by media outlets (click for larger version)

Native black-tailed bumble bee foraging on blackcap raspberry bloom on a farm in Yamhill County, Oregon. (Photo by The Xerces Society/Mace Vaughan.)

Habitat for beneficial insects, including pollinators, on a farm in Montana. (Photo by The Xerces Society/Jennifer Hopwood.)

Pollinator habitat on a farm in Multnomah County, Oregon. (Photo by The Xerces Society/Brianna Borders.)

Long-horned bee foraging on plains coreopsis in a recently created habitat strip. (Photo by The Xerces Society/Jennifer Hopwood.)

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